Background/Objectives: The Mediterranean Alcohol Drinking Pattern (MADP) is characterized by moderate red wine intake with meals, preference for wine over other alcoholic beverages, and avoidance of binge drinking. Whether some attributed beneficial effects to the MADP are explained by higher phenolic compounds intake from non-wine sources needs to be clarified. We investigated this relationship in a well-characterized Mediterranean cohort.

Methods: We analyzed data from 6,047 participants who reached age 60 with complete follow-up and were free of major chronic diseases at baseline in the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) Project, a prospective Mediterranean cohort. A previously published score was used to classify participants according to adherence to the MADP. Dietary polyphenol intake (DPI) from non-wine sources was obtained from Phenol Explorer database v3.6. Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted separately within each tertile of DPI to estimate the odds of reaching age 60 free of major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, or death.

Results: Differences across strata of non-wine dietary polyphenol intake were observed. Within the lowest tertile of non-wine DPI, moderate adherence to the MADP (OR = 0.49; 95%CI: 0.29-0.83), high adherence (OR = 0.41; 95%CI: 0.24-0.70), and abstention (OR = 0.41; 95%CI: 0.22-0.74) were all significantly associated with higher odds of reaching age 60 free of chronic disease. In contrast, associations were lower and lost DPI polyphenols. These results suggest that the potential benefits of the MADP may be more pronounced among individuals with lower intake of polyphenols from non-wine dietary sources.

Conclusions/Recommendations: In this exploratory analysis, the potential benefits of the Mediterranean Alcohol Drinking Pattern on healthy ageing appeared stronger among individuals with lower background dietary polyphenol intake. These findings support the hypothesis that MADP may represent an alternative source of DPI contributing to explain some health effects of alcohol consumption patterns. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms and replicate these findings in independent populations.

Funding: The SUN project has received funding from the Spanish Government-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD 06/0045, CIBEROBN, group: CB12/03/30017), the Government of Navarra and the University of Navarra Alumni Trialist Initiative (UNATI) (REF: 101097681) received funding from the European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant to Miguel A. Martínez-González).